I'll second David's recommendations, with the caveat that I've read Pollan's book (and wrote some long blog posts about it) but haven't seen the Netflix doc. I assume it's good, and have heard as much from most who have watched it.

Also, absolutely psychedelics can work as a ticket to a more spiritually informed version of reality, and like you alluded to, Coka, just having awareness of the eternal Now with a spiritual perspective can be like living in a different reality.

Having said all that (I'm playing "yes-but" here with the first paragraph being the "yes" ones and now here come the butts...er buts...ha ha) ....

Having said all of that, while I agree that psychedelics can function as a useful tool to "travel to the spiritual version of the author's Mexico analogy," I know both from my psychedelic experiences and from observation of others and probably too much reading on the topic, that one of the characteristics of psychedelics CAN be to amplify what's already going on inside oneself.

Now....I DO believe that some (many?) psychedelic trips can move a person past one's ego, all I'm saying is that as a student of psychedelic history, I often find myself playing the tempering voice to the evangelism that can be a natural byproduct of people who have had profound psychedelic experiences. In short, we are all unique and I don't believe there are one-sized-fits-all cures for spiritual ills.

Anyway, pardon the interruption---but you two were having a good chat and I wanted to join in and add some thoughts to the mix! Thanks for taking the time to share yours.